To: Reporters and EditorsRe: Inspector general report on Office of Thrift SupervisionDa: Thursday, May 21, 2009

Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following comment on a report released today from the Treasury Department Office of Inspector General. The report, OIG-09-037 – SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS: OTS Involvement With Backdated CapitalContributions by Thrifts, is available at http://www.treas.gov/inspector-general/auditreports/2009.

“This report paints the disturbing picture of a regulatory agency being much too cozy with the industry it’s supposed to be regulating. It’s completely unacceptable that the Office of Thrift Supervision allowed itself to become a party to misleading depositors and investors about when the thrifts received additional capital. The agency needs to make sure this doesn’t happen again and hold the appropriate people accountable.”